Craig Rosenberg, VPA at Gartner defines RevOps as a strategy that manages, designs & tracks non-product experiences across the entire lifecycle responsible for revenue planning and human engagement in a customer journey. On scrutinizing strategy, you’ll find that it’s majorly about putting an end to the silos in your business with the help of RevOps methodology. This will help you support the best practices operating in silos.
But how identify either you or any organisation experience a silos syndrome? Let's figure out some relevant questions that most SaaS companies face now a days: They are
- Are you aware of the technology or tools other departments use and for what?
- Are you aware of the measurements by customer success teams for the measurement of success as compared to your marketing teams?
- Does your IT department feel bogged down under the weight of disparate technology that they’re asked to maintain, implement and evaluate?
- Are you aware of the times you find something obvious for your team, but that comes as a surprise for the other teams?
- Is your data competent and reliable enough to be used in strategic decision-making?
- Does accountability for your business success go beyond all the verticals or is limited to one?
- Are sales and marketing operations teams engaged and finding value in the processes?
- Are your teams committed to delivering a positive and seamless experience for your prospects and customers' service ops?
If you find it difficult to answer one or more of the above questions, then it means that your organisation might be suffering from silo syndrome.
Why is working in silos a business risk?
Silo organisations risk substantial unrealised revenue along with poorly managed operating expenses which are higher than the normal turnover. Plus, you’ve increased employee attrition. These silos prohibit your company from learning and are the biggest barriers to achieving customer-centric objectives in the company culture.
According to Forrester research on an average, aligned organisations see:
- 15% better profits
- 19% quicker growth
- 10-20% improved sales productivity
- 30% reduction in the GTM expenses
- 15-20% improved internal customer satisfaction
- Overall, you can say that RevOps = Breaking down silos
How to implement RevOps to break down silos
RevOps is the only answer or go-to market strategy to eliminate silo syndrome from the roots. Let’s talk about the important signs that tell you to break silos for a better revenue upgradation of your business.
1. Team-based identity
As a member of any team, be it sales, marketing, or customer service, it's essential to approach every challenge and success together as a unified revenue team. The traditional organizational structure usually leads to silos that can make us forget that we are all part of the same team. Breaking down these silos is crucial to identify what approach works best for the entire team. By doing so, we can avoid team-based identity crises and instead focus on working together towards achieving our common goals. So let's work together, share our knowledge and resources, and create a cohesive team that can accomplish great things.
2. Cross-functional collaboration
Cross-functional collaboration is an essential aspect of any organisation that aims to achieve its business revenue goals. However, it's not uncommon for teams to become siloed, leading to a decrease in collaboration and ineffective communication. This silo syndrome can cause bottlenecks and lead to individual team members taking their own initiatives that might not be functional with the team's overall objectives.
To overcome this challenge, it is crucial to fit an organisational's holistic RevOps methodology into your business. This methodology helps to break down silos by providing a complete view of your business operations, including sales, marketing, and customer success. It ensures that all teams are working together towards the same goals and objectives, ultimately resulting in increased productivity, efficient communication, and better business outcomes. So, if you're worried about bottlenecks before collaborating with members of other teams, implementing a RevOps methodology can be a game-changer for your organisation.
3. Information hoarding
As a company grows and evolves, its go-to-market functions tend to become more specialised and siloed based on individual roles and responsibilities. Marketing teams focus on lead generation and brand awareness, while sales teams prioritise closing deals and hitting quotas. Customer success teams work to retain and expand existing accounts, and support teams handle technical issues and customer inquiries. While this team division can be efficient in the short term, it often leads to information hoarding and a lack of coordination between teams. This results in inefficiencies and friction in the customer journey, which can negatively impact on the bottom line.
To address this challenge, Revenue Operations (RevOps) has emerged as a key strategy for SaaS companies. RevOps is a cross-functional framework that seeks to align and optimize revenue-generating processes across all departments. This involves breaking down silos between teams and promoting collaboration and communication. RevOps professionals work to ensure that key data and insights are shared and acted upon by everyone in the revenue team, from marketing and sales to customer success and support.
RevOps involves the implementation of a range of tools and processes to support cross-functional collaboration. For instance, RevOps teams might develop shared metrics and KPIs to track performance across different departments. They might also implement shared databases and customer relationship management (CRM) systems to ensure that everyone has access to the same customer data. Additionally, RevOps teams might develop standardised processes for lead handoff, account management, and customer onboarding to ensure that everyone is aligned and working towards the same goals.
By breaking down silos and promoting collaboration, RevOps ensures that crucial data and insights are shared and acted upon by everyone in the revenue team. This ultimately leads to better customer experiences, increased revenue growth, and improved business outcomes. RevOps also helps to foster a culture of continuous improvement and learning, as teams work together to identify and address inefficiencies and pain points in the customer journey.
4. Misaligned language
When it comes to achieving a company's goals, having aligned teams is crucial. You might notice that the language used by your teams can betray a lack of confidence in other teams, which is a sign of misaligned communication. This can happen when teams are not aware of what other teams are doing, or when they don't understand the role of other teams. This is known as the silo syndrome, and it can be detrimental to the success of your company.
When teams are not aligned with each other, it can lead to frustration and decreased effectiveness. The solution is to rally everyone around shared revenue goals. This can be achieved by communicating a shared language across the company using the RevOps methodology. This approach focuses on aligning all teams around a common set of revenue goals, which helps to break down silos and foster collaboration. With the RevOps methodology, everyone in the company can work towards the same objectives, leading to better results, higher morale, and a more successful business overall.
Concluding Note
As a business owner, you may be interested in adopting Revenue Operations (RevOps) practices in your company to streamline your revenue growth. However, it's not always easy to transition overnight, especially if you're not sure where to start. The good news is that you can start small with changes that can be easily replicated and progress from there.
It's important to note that most of the barriers to adapting RevOps for SaaS companies are based on mindset and assumptions. This is where TransFunnel, a go-to revenue operation consultant, can help. With the help of our industry experts and HubSpot’s Operation Hub, we can teach you how to implement RevOps in your organisation. We can help you identify the areas that need improvement and make changes that will benefit your business in the long run.
Our experts help you achieve your revenue goals by providing you with the necessary tools and resources. We understand that every business is unique, which is why we tailor our solutions to meet the specific needs of your organization. Whether you need help with sales, marketing, or customer service, we have the expertise to guide you through the process.
Don't let the fear of change hold you back from achieving your business goals. Contact TransFunnel today and let us help you implement RevOps practices in your organisation.
Let’s eliminate team silos and align customer journey with RevOps!
